{"blocks":[{"id":"9ihvv4b9-qldb8d75","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/04/world-news/pope-leo-marks-july-4-by-praying-in-lampedusa-for-migrants-who-died/","meta":{"title":"Pope Leo marks 4th of July by praying in Lampedusa for migrants who died","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/2026-lampedusa-italy-pope-leo-133238992.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"id":"8o0rucmx-xmkc05f1","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/02/us-news/illegal-migrants-banned-from-being-admitted-to-florida-public-universities-state-board-rules/","meta":{"title":"Illegal migrants banned from being admitted to Florida public universities, state board rules","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/crop-39873074_d88d36.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"id":"2msvq3t9-bkf18612","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2026/07/01/us-news/minnesota-gov-tim-walz-pardons-illegal-migrant-convicted-of-sexually-assaulting-10-year-old-girl/","meta":{"title":"Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz pardons illegal migrant convicted of sexually assaulting 10-year-old girl","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2026/07/newspress-collage-puihtltz8-1782955289376.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1782940907&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Samantha Clark is PTA co-president of PS 172, Beacon School of Excellence, the gym of which will be used as a migrant shelter."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"“Mommy, why are they taking away our gym?”"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"For my 5-year-old son, no question is too big or complicated — even at 6:30 a.m."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"My answer is what our small Brooklyn elementary school has been grappling with since Sunday, when parents received a form letter announcing that our tiny gym was becoming a shelter due to the influx of asylum seekers."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"This gym has only one adult-sized toilet and zero showers."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It has an active construction zone that creates an evacuation safety issue in the gym."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"And it is connected to our main school building, which is so overutilized and desperate for space that we’re using storage closets as therapy spaces."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Schools should not be used as shelters for asylum seekers. Period."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Children come to school to learn, play and grow."}},{"type":"header","data":{"text":"Unfair to everyone","level":2}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Asylum seekers come to this country for a chance at a better life."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Neither are served by a building surrounded by active construction and missing basic sanitation for adults."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"It is unfair to everyone involved, and it is not a sacrifice that our mayor should ask anyone to make."}},{"type":"image","data":{"file":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/051523PS1723GPM.jpg?w=840"},"caption":"\n The city has begun setting up cots in several gyms. no photo credit"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Our school is already directly across the street from an asylum shelter, and while we have worked to provide a warm and compassionate welcome, our resources and infrastructure are feeling the pressure."}},{"id":"listbg5n-ftm5yxcl","type":"linkTool","data":{"link":"https://nypost.com/2023/05/16/come-clean-on-your-migrant-plans-mayor-adams-stop-treating-nyers-like-saps/","meta":{"title":"Mayor Adams: Stop hiding the 150 sites where you’re housing migrants","description":"","image":{"url":"https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/05/newspress-collage-27072404-1684272141397.jpg?quality=75&strip=all&1684257810&w=171&h=114&crop=1"}},"variant":"compact"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"We need Mayor Adams to find alternate sites for asylum seekers — ones that are safe and have age-appropriate facilities, but more important, ones that are not concentrated in the same neighborhoods, like Sunset Park."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"If New York City is truly a sanctuary city as Mayor Adams so proudly professes, why are only certain areas bearing the weight and not others?"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"What kind of sanctuary are we providing when we’re using elementary schools without the space or ability to let someone shower?"}},{"type":"header","data":{"text":"We deserve respect","level":2}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"

"}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Also, as parents, we need to be treated with the respect we deserve when the city makes major decisions involving our children."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"At our school, we have had little to no communication from the mayor’s office or the Department of Education in regards to our school’s situation."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":""}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Representatives that we manage to speak to say they’re given no information either —apparently no one knows what’s going on or how to manage it."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"We need clear, timely information so that we can make the best decisions for the children that depend on us."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"Our country’s immigration crisis is a complex issue, but at least I know how to answer my son: “Asylum seekers are here because they need our help."}},{"type":"paragraph","data":{"text":"We need our leaders to find the right, safe way to do that. And that is not putting a shelter in our school gym.”"}}]}

Samantha Clark

NypSamanthaClark@RoundtableIO

Eric Adams is putting NYC’s kids second by sticking migrants in school gyms